


The Boys Are Back

by slightly_petty



Category: Happy Days
Genre: Episode: s11e04 Welcome Home: Part 1, Fix-It, M/M, the other Cunninghams are there too I'm just lazy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-09
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:21:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25780531
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/slightly_petty/pseuds/slightly_petty
Summary: Fix-it for the first, like, three minutes of Welcome Home Part 1, where Potsie is at the Cunninghams when R&R&LB get back from Greenland.
Relationships: Ralph Malph/Warren "Potsie" Weber
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	The Boys Are Back

Ralph wasn’t sure who to expect when he opened the Cunninghams’ front door. Marion and Joanie were definitely home-- he had heard them scream when Lori Beth and Richie Jr. went in-- but he didn’t know who else.

He saw Howard for a moment, but was distracted by Marion and Joanie hugging him before he could tell who else, if anyone, was there. They were both happy to see him, and he was happy to see them; Marion was just as warm and motherly as ever, and Joanie had grown up into a woman while he was gone.

She had just finished telling him he looked great when he heard Potsie say, “Hi Ralph,”-- as if they were simply running into each other at Arnold’s, instead of reuniting in the Cunninghams' living room.

He whirled around, nearly crying with joy from seeing his best friend for the first time in three years.

“Potsie!!” he cheered. Potsie stepped forward, ready to hug him, but Ralph was too excited and instead pulled him into a dip kiss.

Joanie started laughing and teasingly chided, “ _Ralph!_ ”

He straightened up and shot back, with a grin that refused to leave, “Give me a break, I just got out of the army!”, and then everyone was laughing. Potsie wrapped an arm around his shoulders and kissed him on the cheek, while his arm settled easily around Potsie’s waist.

Howard, meanwhile, shut the door. “I thought you weren’t getting discharged for another three months?”

“Yeah, well, I threatened to re-up so they let me out early.”

Potsie used his free hand to pat Ralph's shoulder, saying, "Good job," and Howard replied, “Well in any case, it’s good to see you.”

Then Marion asked, “Ralph, if you’re out of the army, where’s Richie?” Ralph figured she had been holding the question in since the moment he walked through the door.

Lori Beth started, “Oh, well, you know how the army tends to make little mistakes?”

Ralph nodded. “Yeah, like Korea. Well, they've done it again. I'm afraid Richie had to stay back and--”

Richie threw open the door and yelled, “--pay the cab driver!” He was instantly swamped with hugs from Marion, Joanie, and Howard. When he finished hugging Howard he turned to Potsie, who detached himself from Ralph’s side so he and Richie could hug.

"How ya been, Pots?" Richie asked as they hugged.

"Not bad, not bad," Potsie replied. "Welcome home, Rich."

Richie held him at arm's length and looked him over, before looking around the room at the rest of his family. Finally he said, “It’s so nice to see you all.”

"You can say that again!" Joanie laughed.

Then Potsie was going back to stand with Ralph, and Marion was saying how nice it was to have the whole family back together, and Joanie was asking why they didn’t call, and everyone started talking at once, before getting ordered to the couch by Howard. They were still getting settled when Fonzie appeared, the sight of them stopping him dead in his tracks. He stared at Richie like he was seeing a ghost, and crossed the room with single-minded determinedness before hugging the man within an inch of his life. Then he threw one arm over Ralph’s shoulder and pulled him (and by extension Potsie) close too. He looked overjoyed, and his smile could’ve lit up a dark room. They all had smiles like that, all of four of them; best friends, reunited at last.

“My boys are back!” Fonzie announced. Then he looked over at Potsie and amended, “ _Our_ boys are back!”

Ralph grinned. “We’re happy to be here.”

**Author's Note:**

> We were robbed of the reunions between Potsie and the Army boys, I tell you, we were robbed!! (Also I hate who Ralph ACTUALLY kisses so uh haha we're not gonna talk about that.)


End file.
